Nets upset Bucks without Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen
Nets guard Chris Chiozza cuts between Bucks guard Kyle Korver and center Robin Lopez during the first half of an NBA game on Tuesday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Credit: AP/Ashley Landis
Going into their game against the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks and MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, no one could have imagined the 20-point underdog Nets coming away with a victory, especially since they sat their top three players — Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen — in the hope of having them ready for the second game of a back-to-back set against the Celtics on Wednesday night.
But the Nets showed the longest of long shots come in every now and then as they upset the Bucks, 119-116, on Tuesday afternoon at Disney World near Orlando. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot led the way with 26 points, and when he fouled out with less than two minutes left after hitting back-to-back three-pointers for a five-point lead, Garrett Temple hit a midrange jumper with 6.8 seconds left to give the Nets the cushion they needed to hold on.
To be sure, the Bucks (54-14) rested Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton in the second half, but considering how undermanned and undersized the Nets (32-35) are, that took nothing away from the win. As it happened, Temple said some of the Nets ran into the Rockets, who play a similar style of small ball and asked them what worked against the Bucks.
“They gave us some good tips, and we took that to heart,” Temple said. “I think our pace offensively, the way we shared the ball (helped), and then that 3-2 zone really helped get us settled on the defensive end to get enough stops to win.”
Coach Jacque Vaughn broke out the 3-2 zone for the first time in three games since the NBA restart in an effort to slow down Antetokounmpo and the Bucks’ high-powered offense. On offense, the Nets played at a fast pace and racked up 30 assists. They finished the first quarter on a 10-0 run for a 40-34 lead to establish the fact that they came to play, and they never relented.
“I think we had a very impressive approach,” Vaughn said. “We really pushed the pace, tried to take threes early and often, and we were extremely unselfish. That theme carried over throughout the course of the game.”
Luwawu-Cabarrot shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 5-for-7 from three-point range, Temple added 19 points and Chris Chiozza delivered 10 points and 10 assists off the bench. Antetokounmpo still led the Bucks with his 16 first-half points, but Middleton scored just eight.
“Obviously, we didn’t have our best scorers out there, so it’s an opportunity for everybody coming up, and next-man-up mentality,” Luwawu-Cabarrot said. “I just let the game come at me and didn’t force anything.”
The Nets built a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Bucks responded with a 17-4 run, including seven points from D.J. Wilson to take a 107-104 lead. After an exchange of three-pointers, the Nets finished the game on a 12-6 run and got stops on six of the Bucks’ last eight possessions.
Looking ahead to a potential first-round playoff matchup with the Bucks, Temple added: “This is very big for our confidence. We may see them in the first round. This is something we wanted to make a statement.”
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
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